Objectives

The overall aim of the EDSMAR study is to advance the prevention and management of breast cancer in North African women through a better understanding of the molecular, pathological, and risk factor patterns of the disease.

The EDSMAR project has six specific objectives:

to conduct a large population-based case–control study of breast cancer in Morocco, with structured collection of individual, clinical, and pathological information and biological specimens according to strictly controlled protocols;

to characterize the subtypes of premenopausal breast cancer on the basis of their molecular and pathological phenotypes in the population;

to assess the associations between breast cancer and body weight, physical activity, and diet in North African women;

to assess the associations between breast cancer and biomarkers of exposure to specific nutrients in North African women;

to investigate whether these associations differ by menopausal status and receptor status or differ from established associations in White populations; and

to provide information to facilitate the development of preventive programmes to decrease breast cancer risk in the North African population.